1: to pay out: use up, expend2 a: exhaust, wear outb: to use wastefully: squander3: to cause or allow (as time) to pass

How do you use it?

Joey's grandmother gave him ten dollars to spend at the fair.

Are you a word wiz?

Which word do you think is related to "spend"?

A. specify

B. dispense

C. inspire

D. urge

If you weigh the options, B is the winner. "Spend" and "dispense" both trace to the Latin root "pendere," meaning "to weigh." In Latin, "pendere" became "expendere," first meaning "to weigh out," and later meaning "to use up." English speakers adopted "expendere" to form "spendan" which later became "spend." "Dispense" traces to the Latin "dispensare" meaning "to distribute" which Latin speakers formed from "pendere" and which was later borrowed into Old English to form "dispense." Other members of this weighty family include "expense," "expensive," "pensive" (meaning "thoughtful"), "pension" (meaning "an amount of money paid to a retired person") and "stipend" (meaning "an amount of money paid out periodically").